City · Waukesha County, Wisconsin

Oconomowoc, Wisconsin

Oconomowoc is a city in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, part of the Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI metro area. It has 19,080 residents. Oconomowoc, Wisconsin has a quality-of-life score of 98 out of 100 (very high), ranking #267 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Wisconsin it ranks #48 of 396 cities and towns. It ranks best on voter turnout (high), math scores (high) and primary care physicians (high). It ranks worst on days with unhealthy air (high), high ozone days (high) and grocery stores (low).

98Very high

Quality-of-life score: #267 of 15,651 cities and towns
Wisconsin: #48 of 396 in WI
Population: 19,080 (2020-2024)
Land area: 12 mi²
Density: 1,614.3 /mi²
FIPS code: 5559250

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 76 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety98#368/15,637
Economy87#2,084/15,631
Housing70#4,487/14,977
Health87#1,998/15,609
Healthcare98#317/15,650
Environment45#8,441/15,453
Education98#358/15,649
Infrastructure87#2,069/15,650
Community100#75/15,651
Leisure & amenities74#4,000/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Oconomowoc, Wisconsin ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Waukesha County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Voter turnout · high87.5%
100/100Wisconsin 76.3%United States 65.2%2024U.S. Election Assistance CommissionWaukesha County value
Math scores · high3.61
99/100Wisconsin 3.03United States 3.032019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteWaukesha County value
Primary care physicians · high141 /100k
98/100Wisconsin 82 /100kUnited States 76 /100k2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteWaukesha County value
Mammography screening · high59.0%
98/100Wisconsin 53.0%United States 46.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteWaukesha County value
Gyms and fitness centers · high2.5 /10k
98/100Wisconsin 1.3 /10kUnited States 1.3 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsWaukesha County value
High school diploma or higher · high97.9%
97/100Wisconsin 93.6%United States 89.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003

Weaknesses

Days with unhealthy air · high2.7%
15/1002025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyWaukesha County value
High ozone days · high3 days
21/100Wisconsin 4 daysUnited States 7 days2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyWaukesha County value
Grocery stores · low1.2 /10k
22/100Wisconsin 1.5 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsWaukesha County value
Public EV charging ports · low2.8 /10k
28/100Wisconsin 4.0 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyWaukesha County value
Public libraries · low0.4 /10k
35/100Wisconsin 0.8 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesWaukesha County value
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · high8.3 µg/m³
35/100Wisconsin 7.4 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyWaukesha County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

PopulationRising
16,698 (2015-2019) → 19,080 (2020-2024)
+14%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
New homes permittedImproving
5.8 /1k (2021) → 12.6 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+118%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
43.4% (2015-2019) → 56.6% (2020-2024)
+13 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
26.3% (2015-2019) → 33.8% (2020-2024)
+7.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
89.2% (2015-2019) → 94.7% (2020-2024)
+5.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
2.9× (2015-2019) → 3.7× (2020-2024)
+27%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Oconomowoc, Wisconsin improved on 3 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 2. 9 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved3

Property tax−0.4 points1.53% → 1.12%
Broadband+5.5 points89.2% → 94.7%
Household income+20%$88,662 → $106,425

Declined2

Rent / income+7.5 points26.3% → 33.8%
Price / income+0.8×2.9× → 3.7×

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Oconomowoc, Wisconsin between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	26.2 min2015-2019	24.6 min2020-2024	−1.7 min	Within the margin of error	67%
Bachelor's degree or higher	45.8%2015-2019	48.4%2020-2024	+2.6 points	Within the margin of error	48%
Broadband subscriptions	89.2%2015-2019	94.7%2020-2024	+5.5 points	Improved	35%
Child poverty rate	8.3%2015-2019	6.9%2020-2024	−1.4 points	Within the margin of error	53%
Effective property tax rate	1.53%2015-2019	1.12%2020-2024	−0.4 points	Improved	85%
High school diploma or higher	96.0%2015-2019	97.9%2020-2024	+1.9 points	Within the margin of error	57%
Home price to income ratio	2.9×2015-2019	3.7×2020-2024	+0.8×	Declined	32%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4022015-2019	0.4212020-2024	+0.019	Within the margin of error	35%
Median household income	$88,6622015-2019	$106,4252020-2024	+20%	Improved	33%
Poverty rate	5.9%2015-2019	7.7%2020-2024	+1.8 points	Within the margin of error	27%
Rent as share of income	26.3%2015-2019	33.8%2020-2024	+7.5 points	Declined	14%
Rent-burdened households	43.4%2015-2019	56.6%2020-2024	+13 points	Within the margin of error	17%
Unemployment rate	2.1%2015-2019	2.2%2020-2024	+0.1 points	Within the margin of error	46%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	3.4%2015-2019	4.6%2020-2024	+1.2 points	Within the margin of error	32%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Oconomowoc, Wisconsin five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Oconomowoc, Wisconsin in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Oconomowoc, Wisconsin itself moved −8.3 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

19,080 residents (±55)

Men
Women

80 and over
70–79
60–69

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

7,833 households (±252)

Oconomowoc, Wisconsin
Wisconsin share

Under $25k11%861
$25k–50k13%1,043
$50k–75k11%853

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

7,833 households (±252)

Oconomowoc, Wisconsin
Wisconsin share

Own69%5,416
Rent31%2,417

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

10,066 workers (±477)

Oconomowoc, Wisconsin
Wisconsin share

Drive alone75%7,540
Carpool4.6%†462
Public transit0.2%†16

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Waukesha County, the county holding most of Oconomowoc's residents.

Waukesha County has 12,761 employer establishments, 309 for every 10,000 residents (1.24× the US rate of 248; 1.26× Wisconsin's), with 246,232 paid employees at an average annual pay of $66,745. The Census Bureau also counts 32,070 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 12,761; 32,070 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 309; US 248 · Wisconsin 244
Paid employees: 246,232
Average annual pay: $66,745; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Waukesha County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Ambulatory health care services	1,228	29.7	1.42×More than typical	13,820	$78,590	1,339
Specialty trade contractors	974	23.6	1.52×More than typical	12,981	$83,769	1,624
Restaurants and other eating places	680	16.4	0.90×About typical	14,708	$20,361	86
Offices of physicians	471	11.4	1.76×More than typical	6,044	$101,829	271
Lessors of real estate	465	11.2	0.91×About typical	3,498	$61,103	4,557
Services to buildings and dwellings	457	11	1.64×More than typical	6,006	$40,663	1,201
Offices of other health practitioners	380	9.2	1.51×More than typical	2,997	$46,402	711
Building equipment contractors	357	8.6	1.43×More than typical	6,726	$86,543	282
Insurance agencies and brokerages	341	8.2	1.88×More than typical	3,173	$87,876	726
Construction of buildings	340	8.2	1.09×About typical	3,060	$89,121	655
Management, scientific and technical consulting	306	7.4	1.10×About typical	2,850	$102,693	1,710
Full-service restaurants	297	7.2	0.94×About typical	7,287	$22,443	34

Rank places for an industry Open Waukesha County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 413,581 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $427.4K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin: $22.40 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $427.4K; −58% vs FY2025
Per resident: $22.40; US $1,994
Sole-source: 18%; US 30%
Single offer: 71%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Department of Veterans Affairs$353.9K83%
Treasury Common Services Center$53.1K12%
Department of the Army$18K4.2%
Defense Logistics Agency$2,4170.6%

Top recipients

BRUNO INDEPENDENT LIVING AIDS INC$349.8K82%
PANAMERICA COMPUTERS, INC.$53.1K12%
D & H INDUSTRIES INC$18K4.2%
REHAB & MOBILITY SYSTEMS, LLC$4,0600.9%
ENGINE POWER, INC.$2,4170.6%

Spending by fiscal year

1MFY2017
1.5MFY2018
1.9MFY2019
584.8KFY2020
639.5KFY2021
905.5KFY2022
1.3MFY2023
930.4K

Top industries (NAICS)

Medical equipment and supplies manufacturing · 3391$349.8K82%
Computer systems design and related services · 5415$53.1K12%
Other fabricated metal product manufacturing · 3329$18K4.2%
Other general purpose machinery manufacturing · 3339$4,0600.9%
Engine, turbine, and power transmission equipment manufacturing · 3336$2,4170.6%

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, so they do not add up across cities.

Oconomowoc, Wisconsin's figures are part of those of Waukesha County, WI ($309.8M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.1% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Oconomowoc is mostly in Waukesha County.

See federal money in Waukesha County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Oconomowoc, Wisconsin is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Scott FitzgeraldR-WI-5 · 100% of residentsWith party 99%Missed 1.2%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Waukesha County98100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI73

Other cities and towns in Waukesha County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/5559250

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends